Jon Gosselin’s ex Colleen Conrad is celebrating his son Collin Gosselin’s victory on Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test.
“Congratulations to Collin, Candace [Cameron Bure] and Alexia [Umansky] on winning Special Forces! ❤️. What an incredible accomplishment!” Conrad wrote via Instagram on Friday, November 13.
“Collin, I couldn’t be prouder of you! I was so disappointed I couldn’t be in Pennsylvania celebrating with you last night, but I was cheering you on from Florida!” she continued.
Conrad, who dated Jon, 49, from 2014 to 2021, called this an “incredible time” in Collin’s life after he won the Fox reality show and spent four consecutive weeks on the New York Times’ bestseller list with his memoir, In the Shadow of Eight: Surviving the Reality of My Childhood.
“And today, watching Candace on The View talk about what a sweet young man you are and how she thought of you like a son really touched my heart,” Conrad added. “There’s nothing better than hearing someone else recognize the wonderful person I’ve always known and loved.”
She concluded, “Congratulations again to all three of you! Collin, I love you so much! ❤️.”
Collin, 22, made it to the Special Forces season 5 finale on Thursday, November 12, alongside six other recruits — David Charvet, Alycia Baumgardner, Matt Barnes, Hannah Stocking, Bure and Umansky.
Collin, Bure, 50, and Umansky, 30, were the last three standing after an intense, 12-hour interrogation challenge.
“I wanted to win,” Collin said after his victory, becoming emotional. “And now I feel I have this new, profound belief in myself that nobody can take away from me.”
Collin joined Special Forces — a show that puts celebrity contestants through military training — three years after his estranged mother, Kate Gosselin, competed on the inaugural season of the show. (Jon and Kate, 51, were married from 1999 to 2009 and rose to fame on their family’s reality show, Jon & Kate Plus 8.)
“I mean, a part of me for a long time was like, ‘I’m gonna prove my mom wrong after everything she did to me as a kid,’” Collin, who has accused Kate of physical and emotional abuse, exclusively told Us in September. (Kate has denied his allegations.)
“But at a certain point, it’s not for her — this journey, saying yes and going out in the jungle — this was for me,” he continued. “Looking back, it’s been a couple of months, but I feel like I learned and grew so much, and I did this for me and for all the children who are part of the mission I’m on. “I just want to show them you can be strong. You can be a warrior and push through and keep going. That’s who I did it for. Not for her.”
